Lorna Arnott is a Reader in the Strathclyde Institute of Education, specialising in Early Childhood Lived Experiences and Play. She previously did a term as Director for Early Years within the Institute. 

The majority of her work focuses on children's exepriences before the age of five and therefore much of her research and teaching focuses on nursery provision.

Lorna completed her Ph.D at the School of Education, University of Stirling in 2011, focusing on young children’s social interactions around technologies in preschool.

Internationally, Lorna is the founder and co-convener for the European Early Childhood Educational Research Association (EECERA) Digital Childhoods, Multimodality and STEM Special Interest Group.  She is also Deputy Editor for the International Journal of Early Years Education and an Assistant Editor for the Journal of Early Childhood Research.

Lorna is the Editor of Digital Technology and Learning in the Early Years, SAGE, Co-Editor of Research Through Play: Participatory Methods in Early Childhood and Co-Editor of The Theory and Practice of Voice in Early Childhood: An International Exploration.

Research Interests

Lorna’s research explores young children’s lived experiences and play, typically in relation to technology, creativity and social play for learning and development.   Her work attempts to understand how the environments and culture, children's agency and the artefacts children use contribute to learning and development.  She is interested in a broader definition of technology which moves beyond the computer towards exploring technological toys, both digital and non-screen based.  Lorna has completed a wealth of research in early childhood settings but more recently have explored informal learning contexts, such as the family home.  

Secondly, Lorna's other research focuses on innovative methods for consulting with children in early childhood (typically under 6 years old).  She's interesting in voice work broadly with young children.

Lorna is currently Co-I and Scottish lead for an ESRC project, Toddlers, Tech and Talk. 

Completed Students:

• Zainab Attar (Competed) - Innovative methods with young children and literacy. PhD.
• Loreain Martinez Lejarreta (completed) Developing young children's critical thinking skills through teacher-children interactions in Early Childhood Education and Care settings. PhD
• Marion Burns (Completed) Early education with a specific focus on transitions. Ed.D
• Jennifer Zike (Completed) Using Pupil Views Templates to investigate the development of thinking across children at point of school entry in Scotland. Ph.D
• Charlotte Allan (Completed) - Shared Experience: How attending Theatre for Early Years influences early attachment and bonding. MPhil.

Lorna’s teaching generally covers:

• Early Childhood Education, specifically focused on children's experiences and play. 
• Qualitative research methods and those related to research with very young children. 

Lorna most often teaches on the BA Childhood Practice, Master's of Education Early Years Pedagogue, PGDE Nursery and the BA Education Nursery. 

Lorna is also interested in delivering research methods training, particularly in relation to qualitative approaches and contributes to both practice-based and academic research training. 

Lorna currently supervises PGR students at Masters, PhD and Ed.D level.